Jevrejska općina Doboj

Jews who settled in this region formed the Jewish Municipality in Doboj back in 1871. During World War II, during the Nazi occupation, almost the entire Jewish population of Doboj deported to concentration camps from which they never returned. Throughout the history of Doboj, Jews have left an indelible mark on the city. They made an immeasurable contribution to the development of economy, culture, health, trade and craft activities. The first doctor from Doboj was Simon Levi; Dr Rihard Skuteski founded the first choral society in Doboj in 1927, and his wife was the first nurse from Doboj. The first veterinarian mentioned in Doboj’s history was Leopold Kalc in 1920, while the brothers Pesah were Doboj traders who opened a department store. Jews were the owners of the first Doboj’s bank and printing press, which was led by Moric Trinki and the first lawyer in the city was Emil Rubinstein. Nowdays, the Jewish Community in Doboj is small in number when compared to other religious communities, and part of its membership is made up of citizens of Jewish origin living in Teslic, Samac and Derventa. Nevertheless, Jewish Community actively works to preserve the identity, religion, culture and traditions of its people, as well as developing good neighbourly relations with other peoples. In addition to preserving Jewish values, the Jewish community in Doboj aims to promote and maintain peace as well as cultural and economic cooperation among all the peoples in Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of the Jewish contribution to a better life for the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Jewish Municipality in Doboj strives to foster Jewish tradition and culture, but also to preserve monuments of Jewish culture and traces of life of Jews who are no longer in Doboj and the areas of nearby towns in the Republic of Srpska and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Community feels it has an obligation to support, as best it can, communities in the municipalities of Bijeljina, Brcko, Bosanski Brod, Vlasenica and Zvornik and the surrounding areas in cooperation with the Federation of Jewish Communities of Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

Researchers should establish contact with members of the Jewish Community before visiting the institution for research. Due to the small number of members, research services can only be provided on demand. The Community is not directly funded by the state and is not part of the archival network.